RCMP's use of facial recognition tech violated privacy laws, investigation finds

The RCMP's use of a controversial, third-party facial recognition technology was a serious violation of Canada's privacy laws, the privacy commissioner says.

Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien tabled a report to Parliament this morning after investigating the national police force's use of software from U.S.-based Clearview AI.

He concluded that by using this software, the RCMP violated the section of the Privacy Act that says that no personal information can be collected by a government institution "unless it relates directly to an operating program or activity of the institution."

"The use of facial recognition technology by the RCMP to search through massive repositories of Canadians who are innocent of any suspicion of crime presents a serious violation of privacy," Therrien said in the report.

"A government institution cannot collect personal information from a third party agent if that third party agent collected the information unlawfully."

Police smash couple's living room window with armoured vehicle in drug raid that finds nothing

Police were doing surveillance on someone Joshua Bennett knew, working up a case she was trafficking drugs.

They observed her at Bennett's rural property, northeast of Calgary, on consecutive days in late March of last year. Later on the second day, they saw Bennett enter the woman's house in Calgary, then exit carrying something in a black garbage bag. Undercover officers followed him home.

A confidential informant, someone with a criminal record who traded tips for money, had told investigators that the woman "uses stash houses to hide her drugs and likes using rural areas," according to court records.

That, more or less, was the evidence the constables, from a provincial joint-forces agency called Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), presented to a judge to get a search warrant.

A week later, at 7 a.m. on a bitterly cold morning, police stormed Bennett's home.

Montreal police filmed kneeling on Black teen's neck, prompting calls for investigation



A Quebec legislator is calling for an investigation into a video that shows a Montreal police officer kneeling on the neck of a young Black teen, his face mashed into the sidewalk, in an image reminiscent of George Floyd's last moments.

Frantz Benjamin, a Liberal member of the Quebec National Assembly who represents the Montreal riding of Viau, says several constituents called him about the video. They say it evokes "collective trauma," reminding them of Floyd telling Minneapolis police officers more than 20 times that he couldn't breathe before he died on May 25, 2020.

The Montreal video was filmed by a passerby in front of a bus stop in the city's Villeray district on June 10.

Legal advocates warn of 'inaccuracies' in Edmonton police's rights campaign

Legal advocates are warning that a new campaign launched by Edmonton police is "not the whole story" when it comes to the rights of people being stopped, detained or arrested.

Police, however, say they are confident in the information that was thoroughly reviewed by their legal team.

The Know Your Rights campaign launched by Edmonton Police Service in March describes the rights of people and responsibilities of officers during interactions.

"We've actually seen some inaccuracies in this document," said Caitlin Dick, student at law and secretary of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) policing committee in Alberta.

"The most important thing that I think I could say is that it isn't legal advice. It shouldn't be acted upon as if it's legal advice … The best thing that you can do often is just wait to speak to a lawyer and get legal advice before you do anything further."

According to campaign literature, if you're stopped you "do not need to answer the questions of a police officer."

If arrested or detained, you can speak with a lawyer "as soon as officers can give you the privacy and safety to do so in your circumstances."

But Dick says that is "not the whole story."

She said it's important for people to know that they have the right to remain silent and can access a lawyer immediately upon detention or arrest.

"So those are two examples of pieces of information in this document that really don't tell the whole picture or give a fulsome piece of advice that you can act upon that would come from a lawyer," Dick said.

2 Ottawa police officers charged in anti-corruption probe related to fentanyl trafficking

Two Ottawa police officers have been charged in an RCMP anti-corruption probe connected to what Ottawa police have called one of its largest single seizures of fentanyl.

RCMP announced Const. Haidar El Badry, 29, is charged with breach of trust, obstructing justice and causing a person to deal with a forged document. Const. Mohamed Mohamed, 45, has been charged with obstructing justice. Both were immediately suspended with pay. Ottawa police, to date, have suspended seven police officers in 2021.

The criminal charges against the two officers comes after a months-long anti-corruption probe that began when Ottawa police asked the Mounties to investigate a possible allegation of breach of trust connected to an ongoing city drug probe.
Charges connected to large fentanyl seizure

Ottawa police ultimately arrested and charged El Badry's brother Ameer El Badry, 23, after a raid at a Holmwood Avenue home on Thursday afternoon.

Police said they seized 1.4 kilograms of fentanyl. The younger El Badry is charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.